House purchase in France, even for a foreigner, is a much less complicated affair than buying in the UK. The conveyancing for instance is handled by a single state appointed solicitor (Notaire).
The deeds and relevent planning documents are held locally and are called for by the Notaire who is well aquainted with local planning and restrictions. The legal fees are high and are on a sliding scale of approximatly 10%.
You do not need to be in France to conclude a house purchase. We concluded the purchase of two houses without being present in France, the Notaire sent the appropriate documents by email.
The Notaire, as well as his legal functions also has a stock of houses for sale, which are always competitively priced as they represent the French selling to the French.
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If you feel confident and have some knowledge of the language you can reduce your costs by dealing direct with a Notaire and avoid estate agents fees. This need not be regarded as a daunting task.
To help with your search we will supply you with contact details for all the Notaires in the region that you are searching
The housing market in the Charente-Maritime is vey active with lots of estate agents who regularly publish brochures of the houses on their books.
Their fees are added to the house price and is therefore an extra cost, but they are happy to take you on a tour of house-viewing to earn their fee.
If you search by this method you increase the number of houses available to you.
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We will supply customers with up-to-date brochures of estate agents that have English speaking representatives
For first time buyers in France we would recommend that you deal with Estate agents that use the services of a UK national. This will avoid language problems completely and you will not be restricted to dealing within office hours.
You will build a friendly and efficient relationship with someone who will go the extra mile and the relationship will not end with the house purchase, but could extend to your next stage of house improvement and renovation.
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We can put you in contact with people who you can trust to give a first class service in house search and subsequent renovation - with probably give you a budget estimate of the likely renovation costs before you buy.
French builder's order books in the Charente are full and you need to join the queue for renovation work. To a lesser degree its the same for joiners, electricians and plumbers.
There are a number of very reliable UK building firms offering renovation and improvement work who also have full order books.
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We are happy to give you contact details of firms and individuals that we know from personal experience are totally reliable as to price and workmanship.
After you have made your decision to buy, you will want to make banking and insurance arrangements and to make contact with the electricity and gas suppliers. You will want to arrange for phone connection and perhaps locate an ISP.
We know retail outlets and discount stores where you can can get good value for your investment
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We can give you a lead and more on all these matters
